1. Dear Teacher What do I already know about the “Dust Bowl”?
Video: What was the human cause of the Dust Bowl? What was environmental cause of the Dust Bowl? How was the DB an economical disaster for farmers? And Americans?

2. The Dust Bowl
I n the 1930s, New Deal-era federal government set up relief agencies to help victims of natural and economic disasters, including residents of the “Dust Bowl” area of the Great Plains which was devastated by dust storms during the Great Depression.

3. Map of Erosion and Dust on the Plains

4. A Dust Storm in Eastern Colorado

5. A father and his two sons seek shelter from a dust storm

6. The Dust Bowl
The Great Plains region—N. & S. Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas Oklahoma and northern Texas
Drought of the 1930s was “the worst in the climatological history”

7. Causes
During the 1920s, farmers overproduced in the heartland to keep up with demand
New land was plowed, cultivated, and did not have enough rest time
the protective layer of grass was removed
Wheat replaces grass
Severe drought and high winds
Layers of top soil blown away, leaving dunes of grit and sand

8. Effects of the Dust Bowl
By 1939, over 300,000 farmers, families, and workers left the Mid-West for California
Okies, Arkies, and Texies travelled up and down California following the cycles of planting and harvesting
Overabundance of cheap labor led to cheap wages for the workers

9. John Steinback’s, The Grapes of Wrath
Novel published in 1939
Film in 1940 (closely follows the novel)
Followed an “Okie” family on their journey to California
Besides the drought, others fled due to falling agricultural prices

10. “Sunny Cal” Who were the "Okies" mentioned in the song?
Listen carefully to the song. What story is being told?
3) List the various miseries encountered in Sunny Cal
4) Write two to three sentence statement on why this source is historically important.

11. Summary
How would you compare the effects of Hurricane Katrina or the recent flooding in Pennsylvania with the Dust Bowl?